1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-checkout terminal, which enables a customer to execute a self-checkout.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, a self-checkout terminal, which enables a customer to execute a self-checkout, has been developed. Various user interfaces for executing an article sales data processing are arranged such that an operation by a customer, information offering for the customer, and a receipt issuance are enabled. As the various user interfaces, it is provided that an article code reader such as a barcode reader or the like, a display for displaying information, an input part for inputting information, a settlement part for enabling a settlement such as a receiving/dispensing device for coins and bank notes, a receipt printer, and so on.
Further, a measurement is required to prevent a wrongdoing, that is, an article which a customer can bring home should be limited to the article, an article code of which was read by the article code reader. In other words, an article should be limited to the purchased article through the article sales data processing. As for such measurement, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 09-245251 discloses a technology that prevents a wrongdoing by checking a weight of the article, the article code of which was read by the article code reader. A technique disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 09-245251 is to acquire weight data of an article from a PLU (Price Look-Up) file and so on based on an article code, which is read by the article code reader, to weigh the weight of the article after the article code was read, and to execute a weight check to see an identity between the weight specified by the weight data and the actual weighed weight.
However, the technique of the weight check described above may be inappropriate, or such technique may not be adopted from the beginning. Reasons will be stated as follows.
Weights of articles are not constant, and there are various articles, the weights of which are heavy such as 10 kilograms to light such as some grams. To weigh a weight of an article, the article is needed to be placed on an article placing table, which constitutes a scale plate of a scale device, for example. However, it is inappropriate to have a heavy article placed on the article placing table because placing the heavy article burdens a customer. Therefore, it is inappropriate for such the heavy article to adopt the weight check technology.
Further, a maximum range and a minimum range of a possible accurate weighing are set for a scale device as a weighing performance, but there might be an inaccurate weighing such as a heavy article or a light article beyond the weighing performance of the scale device. Therefore, the weight checks cannot be adopted for the articles beyond the weighing performance of the scale device.
Because of the reasons stated the above, there is an article for which the weight check technique is inappropriate, or the weight check technique cannot be adopted. It might be quite difficult or impossible for these articles to be checked if they are taken outside of a shop by a wrongdoing without an article sales data processing.